The Treasury of Loyal Retainers (Chūsingura) tells the tale of the forty-seven rōnin, or masterless samurai, who diligently plotted to avenge the death of their master, Asano Naganori. Asano was humiliated by Kira Yoshinaka, an official at the court of the shogun; after Asano drew his sword against Kira, he was ordered to commit suicide. Two years later, Asano’s loyal retainers stormed Kira’s mansion and killed him.

In this illustration, Yuranosuke, one of the plotters, realizes that he has been observed reading a secret letter and leads Okaru, the young woman spying on him, down a ladder. Okaru has just been sold as a courtesan and is in service at the Ichiriki Teahouse in the Gion district in Kyoto, where Yuranosuke had been pretending dissipation and complete indifference to revenge.